, that climate science even exists. republicans control the house. you need 60 votes to get something in the senate. you need 67 votes to get a climate treaty, an international treaty ratified. >> ifill: do you see a movement coming from the white house to kind of boost this? >> well, it will be very interesting to see what the president does. he did... president obama did talk about climate change in his election night speech. there are signs that he thinks about this as kind of a legacy issue. he's someone who cares a lot about his legacy. this would be sort of a decade, century-long issue that would cement his place. >> ifill: we'll see what he does next, if anything. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> brown: again, the major developments of the day: house republicans made a counter-offer on how to avoid the "fiscal cliff." it calls for $2.2 trillion in savings over ten years, but no hike in tax rates. and the u.n. announced it's pulling nonessential international staffers from syria, while u.s. officials